Furious Mandela sues ally over art sales

Once Nelson Mandela and his lawyer, Ismail Ayob, stood shoulder to shoulder in their battle against apartheid. Now the legendary figures are about to clash in a bitter lawsuit in which the elderly Mandela is battling to preserve the integrity of his name.

In a case highlighting how the post-apartheid era's first democratic leader has unwittingly spawned a memorabilia industry, the former President is to sue Ayob for allegedly passing off his signature and misrepresenting him in the sale of lithographs depicting his years in jail on Robben Island.

Mandela's many admirers are saddened to see his diminishing energy sapped by a lawsuit. Others are dismayed that Ayob's celebrated career as one of the leading anti-apartheid lawyers is being sullied.

Although there is no suggestion of personal gain, sources close to the case say that Ayob, Mandela's personal lawyer for more than 20 years and one-time close friend, will be asked to account for about £3 million in allegedly unauthorised sales of a limited series of prints purportedly signed by Mandela.

High-profile buyers of the prints include Oprah Winfrey, David Beckham, Bill Clinton, Samuel Jackson, the Sultan of Oman and Prince Charles. The prints are sold at the Touch Of Mandela gallery in the exclusive Sandton suburb of Johannesburg and in Cape Town and London.

'We are drawing up papers to sue Mr Ayob and his associate, Ross Calder. We intend to file in the next week to 10 days,' Mandela's present lawyer, George Bizos, told The Observer. 'It is a sad, troublesome case. It has caused Mr Mandela considerable vexation. He is highly upset about this.'

Mandela is highly marketable. Increasingly frail at 86, he has greatly reduced his public appearances. Recently he has backed rock concerts to raise funds to combat Aids, although local reports say the highly publicised concerts did not raise much.

The lawsuit highlights the difficulties facing the elderly Mandela in preventing others, including close associates and even family members, from exploiting his name. Mandela has had to threaten lawsuits to stop his name or image being used on 40 different products, ranging from gold coins to T-shirts.

To raise money for his charities, Mandela endorsed the art scheme devised by Ayob. The first works were of Mandela's handprints, with the outline of Africa in his palm, which were produced in 2001. There followed six prints of different views of Robben Island, sold as a limited edition with his signature.

It is claimed they were based on rough sketches by Mandela which were 'enhanced' into colour lithographs. Artist Varenka Paschke, granddaughter of apartheid-era Prime Minister P.W. Botha, is said to have created the final works from which the prints were produced. Publicity releases said that Paschke 'tutored' Mandela.

Marketed as limited editions, the lithographs were sold round the world. Half of the proceeds were to go to the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund and the other half to the Nelson Mandela Trust. Ayob was the chairman of that trust and two of Mandela's daughters are on the board. Ayob claims the trust's funds have been fully accounted for. The works are appealingly gentle depictions of the island. Buyers all over the world queued for these pieces of Mandela magic. Mandela was unhappy when it became clear that far more than the original sets of prints were being sold. He stopped signing them and withdrew his endorsement two years ago, said Bizos. But the prints continued to be sold.

The lawsuit will claim that the prints were mass-produced and Mandela's signature was mechanically reproduced.

The last straw appears to have been the sale of prints to heads of state, celebrities and industrialists at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last January. Mandela is said to have been furious.

Bizos said there was little likelihood of a last-minute resolution, adding: 'The proceedings are being taken mainly for the protection of Mandela's name and reputation, but also in the interests of the public to whom things are being marketed in his name in many parts of the world at exorbitant prices.'

Ayob and Calder would not comment in detail. But Ayob expressed surprise at the pending lawsuit and said: 'At no stage have I benefited or done anything improper.'